At $28,339 per pupil, Wheeler Central Schools ranks #10 of 244 Nebraska districts by per-pupil spending (Nebraska districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
127
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$28,339
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Wheeler Central Schools operates 2 public schools serving 127 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Nebraska. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 combined schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Wheeler County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $28,339 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the top 25 of 244 Nebraska districts by per-pupil spending. See how Nebraska compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 81.5% local, 13.1% state, and 5.4% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 2 schools offering Advanced Placement (1 AP courses district-wide), a 69:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 7.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 94.6% White, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 1.1% African American across the district's schools.
Wheeler Central Elementary #45 accounts for 66.7% of all Wheeler Central Schools student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Wheeler Central Schools a distant remainder — means Wheeler Central Schools-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade band: combined. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how the district allocates programs, capital, or staff. Because it contains a majority of the affected population, enrollment-weighted aggregates will sit closer to this entity's reported fields than to those of smaller peers; an unweighted entity count answers a different question.
Wheeler Central Schools student-counselor ratio is 69:1 — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Values this far below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
Wheeler Central Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 7.1% — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Values this far below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
Wheeler Central Schools has 2 schools, including 2 combined. Total enrollment is 127 students.
How much does Wheeler Central Schools spend per student?
Wheeler Central Schools spends $28,339 per student.
What is the demographic composition of Wheeler Central Schools?
Wheeler Central Schools students are 94.6% White, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 1.1% African American, averaged across 2 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.